Affordable Skincare Treats.

Now I like a bit of expensive skincare as much a the next girl, but sometimes you've just got to hand it to the affordable gems that are out there. Especially when they can give the big boys a run for their money.

If your budget can't quite stretch to the sometimes stratospheric prices of high end moisturiser, Organic Surge are definitely worth checking out. I've been road-testing their Blissful Daily Moisturiser* & the Overnight Sensation Night Cream* and I can safely say they do the job, and they do it well! I challenge you to find an organic cream under a tenner that does just as well as these beauties! 

Even after a good double cleanse (or when you want to do a quick eye make up change) I find having an oil based make up remover really handy to either shift those last bits or to remove make up quickly but gently. I used to religiously use a much more pricey version but since I discovered the Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover it has become a staple.  

Finally The Body Shop Nutriganics Drops of Youth Serum* is something that has subtly become a favourite, I kept finding myself reaching for it. At £22 it may be at the higher end of affordable but compared to your top end stuff, this is very purse friendly. Packed with good stuff for your skin and free in silicones & parabens it's a great one for those ingredient conscious girls. 

What are your purse friendly skincare favourites? 

xx

Ginger Sparkle.

Ginger Sparkle Hand Wash 

Ginger Sparkle Home Fragrance Oil

Ginger Sparkle Reed Diffuser

Ginger Sparkle Shower Gel 

Joyful Gingerbread House

Gingerbread Man

Last year, a little gingerbread tin landing on my doorstep and it started a bit of a revolution. My love obsession with ginger is well documented on here but the Ginger Sparkle range from The Body Shop really is the one for me. 

I may have gone slightly wild in the online aisles and bought a little bit of everything but I'm basking in a ginger haze. Ginger Sparkle is the perfect blend of warming but spicy. It's a pure ginger scent that is deceptively difficult to track down. 

I'm bathing in the stuff, filling my room with the scent of it and even giving it away as gifts. I'm a certified Ginger Nut...

xx

Vineyard Peach Body Lotion.

When The Body Shop happened to mention that the Vineyard Peach range was back in action my beauty blogger senses were tingling off the chart. If there is one scent I can't resist, it's a little bit of fresh peach. 

The Vineyard Peach Body Lotion* couldn't be more perfect right now. Where others rave exclusively about the much famed Body Butters from The Body Shop I think we all need to take a moment to pay homage to the humble body lotion. In this hot, humid weather we've been having ain't nobody got time to sit around letting a rich moisturiser sink into there skin. Enter the lotion. A couple of pumps and your away. Wham, Bam, Thank You The Body Shop.

As far as the scent goes it couldn't be closer to the amazing scent of freshly picked peaches. I dutifully did a sniff test between the lotion and the cut peaches used to photograph and they were tantalisingly similar. 

You can shop the rest of range here, in fact they're offering great savings at the moment! 

xx

*PR Sample, but genuine love!

EDIT: Definitely just snapped up the shower gel & body scrub at a bargain price (40% off, shh!) 

The Body Shop Chocomania.

Put your hand up if you're guilty of taking a sneaky taste of an amazing scented body lotion/lip balm/sugar scrub? I know I have... 

Now, you could accuse The Body Shop of being plain cruel when they released the Chocomania range. It is every chocoholics dream. 

I usually laugh in the face of obvious instructions, but in this case the 'do not eat' was a useful reminder. 

I've encountered many chocolate scented products in the past, but this particular range actually smells of proper chocolate pudding. It's divine. 

I won't lie to you, I want to eat it. 

The scrub is especially delicious, I've used all my willpower to not sneak a taste... 

xx

*provided for consideration

Not The Gumdrop Buttons! The Body Shop Ginger Sparkle.

When I think of Christmas, I think of Gingerbread. It is by far my favourite festive scent. 

I spotted this gorgeous little tin in The Body Shop when I popped in last week and I had to pick it up. 

It's ginger, It's fricking adorable and It's a bargain, how could I say no! 

£15 will get you some delicious ginger shower gel, scrub, soap and body butter. When you can shell out a tenner for a body butter alone, it's a winner. 

Despite the wonderful contents, is it wrong to say I'm most excited about the tin?! It's a fantastic bit of packaging that makes the gift look a lot more expensive and could be used again and again. I'm definitely filling it with some real gingerbread when Christmas is around the corner! 

This would make the perfect gift for any ginger fanatic.

If you want to get your paws on your very own gingerbread man, click here. 

Just as a bonus.... 

Laura xx

*Bought with a gift card provided by PR. 

September Glossybox.

As if it's Glossybox time again! 

September promised a box full of 'rising stars', and whilst the beautifully illustrated box by Maggie Li ticked all the right boxes, the contents fell slightly short of the mark. 

In my box: 

Lady Gaga Fame Fragrance 1.2 ml. (30ml-100ml £25-£61)

Rodial Glamoxy Snake Serum & 5 Minute Facial (£29 for Snake Serum, £10.95 5 Minute Facial) 

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream (£25/15ml) 

Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (£9/ 50ml)

Biosilk Silk Therapy (£15.80/ 50ml) 

Whilst I was intregued by Lady Gaga's offering to the celebrity perfume market, It was different to what I expected from her. I'd imagined something more akin to Illamasqua's daring signiture scent, Freak. Something slightly darker, daring and sensual. However, Fame's sweet top notes (honey & apricot) offer little in the way of lasting power and tend to burn away after hardly any time at all. The black colour of the liquid is a gaga-esque quirk but more smoke and mirrors than a memorable scent. 

Rodial is a brand I've always regarded with slight trepidation. With many products claiming wonder results, I was excited to try, yet sceptical of the results. The name Snake Serum is a classic example of Rodial branding: Exotic and slightly mystical. As I'm not quite at the splurge on anti-aging at all cost period of my life I'm not the most qualified person to critique the product. Yet it has a nice smell, felt smooth on the skin and didn't do anything untoward. However, I really did like the 5 Minute Facial, having only used it once, I won't be raving just yet, but It's a good start.  

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream is a pleasant addition but isn't blowing me away. I always welcome a natural product in my Glossybox as I've found some really good natural brands this way. I'll get back to you on this one. 

Now here is where I'm slightly perplexed. Taking this months theme into account, The Body Shop Vitamin E Cream appears to be a bit of a red herring. The smell of this stuff is wildly nostalgic, yet is being hailed as a rising star. Bizarre. 

Finally, Biosilk Silk Therapy left me most confused. The packaging and instructions are in French, yet made in the USA. It was only under closer inspection I realised it was a leave in treatment. I'm yet to give it a go so I'll reserve judgement. 

The Round Up. 

I'm sorry Glossybox, but this month's box didn't really float my boat. The box itself was the most exciting thing about it, and I'll look forward to using it as pretty storage...There's always next month. 

Laura xxx

*PR Sample.

August Empties.

Without sounding too beauty bonkers, there is nothing quite like the satisfaction you get after hoarding empty products and throwing them away after writing about them...anyway. 

I've managed to finish up a respectable amount of products through July/August, here are my thoughts. 

Origins Vitazing.

Without going on too much about this little gem, I use it everyday without fail and haven't touch foundation for months because of it. Not surprisingly I already had a back up waiting in the wings when this finally bit the dust. 

The Body Shop Fuzzy Peach Bath & Shower Gel. 

This was a lovely product and smelt divine, but I'm a fickle creature and have far too many shower gels to explore, so I'm not sure i'll be picking up another one. It was good whilst it lasted though. 

Caudalie Beauty Elixir. 

After raving about this facial mist, I'm really not sure how much it was doing to my skin now I haven't used it for a while. It's a refreshing menthol hit when you spray it on your face, but whether it actually does any long term good? I'm undecided. 

MUFE Smoky Lash. 

I really do love this mascara and I was sad to see it finally dry up. But I think i'll wait until I've ploughed through the rest of my never ending supply before I pick it up again. Maybe it's a good thing it's such a pain to get hold of in the UK! 

Label M Dry Shampoo. 

This little travel size has come in handy this summer, but I far prefer the coloured version from Label M. I'll be sticking with that and avoiding grey hair in the future. 

Boots Gorgeous Feet Foot Spray. 

A random addition but I've been on my feet constantly recently and this is a nice little treat. I might look into picking it up again! 

VO5 Ultimate Hold Hair Spray 

Hmm, It does the job but I think I prefer other brands. I didn't particularly like it but was determined to use it up. Not offensive but not my favourite. 

What have you been using up this month? I for one feel cleansed! 

Laura xx

Good Enough To Eat: Body Shop Almond Body Butter.

It's only a quick one, but I just had to share. 

I LOVE THIS STUFF. 

I picked it up a couple of weeks ago on a whim after being drawn in by the body shops killer sale. £6 for a Body Butter...yes please. 

I was forever faithful to body butters for years until my love of body oils took over, but if you can find me a body oil that smells as good as this little gem I'll be surprised. 

To put it simply, it's like a bakewell tart in a pot. I have to do everything I can to resist licking my fingers after I've applied this to my body. It's heaven. 

The one downside is that it takes slightly longer to absorb than an oil, but I slap it on before I go to bed and wake up with super soft skin. I can deal with that. Just maybe not one to apply before you pull your skinny jeans on. 

If you want to get your hands on it, pick it up here now. It's a bargain! 

Laura xx

Re-Create the Look: Lan Nguyen for the Body Shop.

Now, call me silly, but I have never associated The Body Shop with the high octane world of the catwalk show. However, when I was asked to re-create the look Lan Nguyen did here for the Vauxhall Fashion Scout show recently. I was too intrigued to say no. 

So, complete with everything I could need. I decided to try and do it justice....

Firstly, what was I working with? 

I found most of the product agreeable, in some cases they appeared to lack the fierce pigmentation I expected, but they were super easy to work with. The one product I wasn't sold on was the Concealer Pencil, but simply because this is far too dark for me, even in summer.

(top-bottom)

06 Eye Definer French Navy

05 Eye Definer White

05 Concealer Pencil

Liquid Eyeliner

Shimmer Cubes Palette 20.

(L-R) 

03 Starlight Silver

01 Indigo Blue

04 Midnight Black

03 Snow White

As I embarked on trying to recreate the look, I remember exactly why I don't like to do this sort of thing...oh the pressure! 

BEFORE

AFTER

I was really impressed how simple, but dramatic this look was. Lan really mastered the quick, but beautiful look with ease. She describes it as a '60's Smokey Eye with a modern, feline twist. I couldn't agree more. 

The two stars of the show for me were the liquid eyeliner, that literally took seconds to apply and perfect, and I may have just found a new best friend in the slanted brush. It made applying accurate eyeshadow so easy I don't think I've ever managed to get such a sharp line on my lower lash line. Finally, the white eyeliner in the water line really hammered the 60's vibe home. 

Of course a pair of falsies would really finish off the look, but, c'est la vie! 

The thing I like most about this particular look is I would have never, ever gone for it, but I think it looks pretty snazzy...dare I say, groovy...? No? Ok.

What I was trying to achieve...

How did I do?! 

Laura xx

(All products provided for the look, but as always, treated without influence, compensation or promise)